Product Description:
Personnel: Hugh McCracken, Jeffrey Mironov (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Ramon Stagnaro (nylon-string guitar); Stacy Shames (harp); Karen Karlsrud, Crystal Garner, Nancy McAlhaney, Cecilia Hobbs Gardner, Yuri Vodovoz, Maxine Roach, Sarah Adams, Cenovia Cummins, Desiree Elsevier, Joyce Hammann, Lois Martin, Peter Winograd, Jean Ingraham, Avril Brown, Katherine Livolsi Stern, Jan Mullen, Ricky Sortomme, Adria Benjamin, Jonathan Dinklage (violin); Diane Barere, Ellen Westerman, Daniel Miller, Jeanne LeBlanc, Richard Locker, Eugene Moye (cello); Lawrence Feldman (flute, alto flute, piccolo, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Charlie Pillow (flute, alto flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone); Ken Hitchcock (flute, alto flute, alto saxophone); Ron Janelli (flute, alto flute, baritone saxophone); Tim Ries (flute, clarinet, tenor saxophone); Roger Rosenberg (alto flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone); Dennis Anderson (alto flute, clarinet, oboe, tenor saxophone); Warren Ham (harmonica); Diane Lesser (oboe); Tony Kadleck (flugelhorn, French horn); Alex Sipiaguine, Richie Hagen, Dave Spiers, Jeff Kievit, Dan Culpepper, Chris Komer, Bob Carlisle (French horn); Mike Davis (trombone); George Flynn (bass trombone); Rob Mounsey (piano, keyboards); Robby Robinson (Fender Rhodes piano); Paul Shaffer (Hammond b-3 organ); Will Lee (bass guitar); Shawn Pelton (drums); Gordon Gottlieb, Richie Gajate Garcia (percussion); Gordon Grody, Lori Brooks, Kevin Osborne, Gary Janney, Debra Black-Clements, Gino Speight, Kenneth Scat Springs, Alfie Silas-Durio, Alex Nester, Fonzi Thornton, Kim Mont, Mark Kibble, Nikki Gregoroff, Tawatha Agee, Robin Clark, Jason Paige (background vocals).
In the manner of standards albums by Barry Manilow and Rod Stewart, Frankie Valli's ROMANCING THE '60s has the singer tackling a set of tunes near and dear to the American heart. As one might expect from Valli, he leans toward the pop and R&B of his own era (an era he helped define, incidentally, with the music of the Four Seasons).
But instead of relying on past glories, Valli turns to Brill Building pop, reworking tunes such as Leiber-Spector's "Spanish Harlem" and Bacharach-David's "This Guy's In Love With You." Those looking for light, breezy pop of yore should know that the productions are heavy on strings and full arrangements, but Valli's voice, which can still hit a decent falsetto, holds up admirably.
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